Back To The Gym ..

I have never been so happy to see a gym in my life. It was the first session back after Christmas and New Year. I took it slow but I'm glad of what I achieved. I could feel though it had been a while since the last time I had any excise, not too mention the very heavy night of alcohol on NYE. It was all weighing me down so I'm glad that I had a salad today as well.

 

I'm back on it and hoping a high syn, mixed drinks night didn't do too much damage but the results will show next week.

 

Tomorrow is chili day, quite looking forward to it, I know, quite sad but I do love that meal.

Weigh In .. Expected ..

First off let me mention that I have one more weigh in before Christmas and I need to lose 3 and a half pounds, oh my god I can do this. This week is a complete low syn week of salads and pasta. I have to reach my Christmas target, I'd be so ecstatic!

 

So I told you about my horrendous week of meals out, I was going to try and be good the other days. That didn't really work out for me, from pasties at 2 in the morning (motorway services), hot chocolates and a take away. It has not been good, not to mention I had no exercise like I planned, it seemed everything was in my way last week. On Wednesday I had a poorly child, on Friday I caught his illness and couldn't even get up never mind go to the gym, and on our usual Monday swim night they closed the sport centre.

 

So all in all I had a bad week, and the scales showed that, I was pretty much hoping for less than 5lbs so I was pleased when the scale said I'd put on 2 and a half, I can cope with that.

 

After weigh in it was our Christmas raffle and I was delighted when I won a hand blender and a soup recipe book, I now have new recipes to try in the new year. Also I was really pleased the friends that we sit with all won something, including Gareth winning an actifry!

 

So on it this week for 3 and a half pound loss, wish me luck!

Busy and Hard Week ..

So just come back from last minute workout before weigh in. Me and Gareth did 40 lengths in the pool. Feel quite good about it as well today. Before that I had a simple ham and cheese salad getting my Healthy A in there. I am now just munching on an after body workout snack of a Hi-Fi bar, getting my Healthy B in.

 

This week is a busy Christmas week for Gareth and I, we have 3 meals out so it's going to be hard to get a loss in next week. We're going to try really hard all the other days and get lots of body magic in to try and make up for it, we now have something going on every day up to Thursday next week. Not to mention I'm going to see him everyday until Thursday next week, that's a lot of Gareth. Haha.

 

Today was Swimming getting our body magic in.

Tomorrow, I'll be at my son's Christmas play in the morning, then in the evening is weigh in. But tomorrow is a special weigh in, because straight after is our SW Christmas meal. I am very excited to have a great meal with great people. I think there is about 30 of us out of our group going. I've already chosen my meal of Tomato and Basil soup, Traditional Turkey dinner and for desert Raspberry Blondie.

On Wednesday we will be shopping then off to the gym, that day will be a food good day, of pasta or salad!

Thursday is London day, we're going down to London for a spot of shopping, meal out and into Winter Wonderland (if you want to know about Winter Wonderland, it's on Gareths blog here). This will be a hard day of hot chocolates, Harrod's cake's and a Mexican meal at Chiquito's. I'm going to try and choose good in the restaurant and restrain myself from the delicious cakes, but I'm not that strong!

On Friday it's gym day, trying to burn off what I ate in London.

Saturday is another day out. This one in York, where there will be a lot of walking around which I hope will help but will consist of a meal at Lendall Cellars which is a gorgeous restaurant in the centre of York.

Sunday is damage control once again by going to the gym, I'm going to really push myself to try for if anything a maintain!

Monday is back to Swimming, a last chance body magic session, and then we come round to Tuesday once again and weigh in, where we will learn our fate of the week.

Wednesday will be gym, depending on the results of the night before weigh in, it could be just a normal work out or pushing it to lose the gain!

 

So you see a hectic week of up and down food, I am actually optimistic that I can control this and not get that much of  gain. I use the in between days of meals as body magic days and eat syn free or very low syn foods such at pasta, salads or jacket potatoes. Also trying always to get my fruit and veg in (superfree foods). One things for sure is there is no bad snacking and no bread. I am cutting them out this week. I am in the zone!

Paella

Today I made one of my fave's, Paella. Really simple and so tasty.

 

Ingredients:

2 onions, chopped

2 garlic cloves, chopped

1pt chicken stock made with Bovril

227g/8oz tomatoes, skinned and chopped

340g/12oz long grain rice, dried

A few strands of saffron

113g/4oz raw tiger prawns

57g/2oz thin green beans, trimmed and halved

113g/4oz cooked chicken, skinned and diced

170g/6oz live mussels

1 red pepper

seasoning

2 tbsp chopped parsley

 

1. Put the onion, garlic and 1/2 pt of the stock in a heavy, deep frying pan. Cover, bring to the boil and boil for 5 mins. Simmer, uncovered, for 20-30 mins, until the onions are tender and golden. Stir in the tomatoes and rice and cook gently for 2-3 mins.

2. Bring the remaining stock to the boil and add to the pan with the saffron. Simmer gently for about 20 mins, until the liquid is absorbed and the rice is fluffy and tender. Ten mins before the end of cooking time, add the prawns, cooked chicken and green beans.

3. Meanwhile, scrub the mussels under running water, discarding any that are cracked or open, Pop them into a pan with a little boiling water, cover with a lid and cook over a high heat, shaking occasionally, until the mussels open. Throw away any that fail to open.

4. Grill the red pepper under a pre-heated grill until charred, the remove the skin and seeds. Cut the flesh into thin strips. Season the paella to taste and serve garnished with the mussels and red pepper strips, sprinkled with parsley. 

 

Meal serves 4 and is completely syn free, I don't personally like mussels or pepper so I left them out and it tasted just fine without them.

 

Now after a great meal I am going to go get my body magic in and do a work out in the gym with Gareth.



Chicken Goujons ..

Just come back from an hours workout at the gym, getting ready for another great week. Didn't majorly push myself this evening, it was just a good workout. And I feel great for it.

 

Before that I had an easy meal of chicken goujons, SW chips and peas.

 

Ingredients:

4 portions of mini chicken fillets (about 16 pieces)

1 egg, beaten

25g golden breadcrumbs

A few potatoes, cut into chips

Fry Light

 

1. Preheat oven to 190c.

2. Spray a baking tray with Fry Light, place chips on baking tray and lightly spray again over the top.

3. Dip each mini fillet in the beaten egg and lightly coat with the breadcrumbs, place on another baking tray sprayed with Fry Light and pop both in oven for 30 mins turning once halfway through.

4. Serve with veg or a crisp salad.

 

This recipe serves 4, and is 1.5 syns each serving.

I have worked out that 25g of golden breadcrumbs is 4.5, so this dived by for and rounded up would be 1.5. If you want it syn free you can use wholemeal bread blitz in a food processor to make breadcrumbs and use this as your Healthy B choice.



Weigh In .. A Little Late ..

Just got back from the gym with Gareth, and now I feel great. Always feel better after the gym, feel like I've contributed to my weight loss. Today is a great start to the week, got my superfree in and my Healthy A and B. For lunch I had left over chili with 2 slices of wholemeal bread followed by fruit. For dinner I made a favourite of Spaghetti Bolognese. Completely syn free, I had my Healthy A left so I popped a bit of grated cheese on top! Lovely!

 

 

 

Ingredients:

Fry Light

1 onion, finely chopped

2 garlic cloves, crushed

340g extra lean minced beef

230g button mushrooms, thinly sliced

400g can of chopped tomatoes

280ml beef stock

1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce

seasoning

280g spaghetti, dried

 

1. Spray a pan with Fry Light and cook the onions and garlic for 2-3 mins until just softened. Stir in the mince and cook until browned.

2. Add the mushrooms and cook for 1 minute. Add the chopped tomatoes, stock and Worcestershire sauce. Season lightly and bring to the boil. Reduce the heat and simmer for about 15-20 mins until reduced and thickened. Check the seasoning.

3. Meanwhile, cook the spaghetti according to packet instructions. Drain and divide between 4 plates. Top with bolognese sauce and sprinkle with cheese if you want.

 

So easy, syn free and filling!

 

Also I haven't informed you of my results of this weeks weigh in. I stepped on the scales thinking of a gain and received a maintain! I'll take it, after the week I had, of alcohol, apple pie and just random snacking I'm pleased with that result. I really thought I'd blown it, I would like to keep losing every week but at this stage anything is better than a gain. So I am set for a new week, still need 7 1/2 pounds for my Christmas target. In 5 weeks, can I do it?



SW Works Without You Knowing It ..

 

I am on it this week, went to the gym yesterday evening to get my body magic in, tread mill, bike, cross trainer and weights. really felt it last night as well, I always feel better when I feel it. I think that I've actually made a difference then.

My son was off school for teacher training day so I got my body magic in today as well. From racing home from the shops with him to dancing to Gangnam Style around the house, now that dance is a workout!

 

To quench my appetite after dancing I made spaghetti cabonara, the easiest one I have ever made. I'm not lying it literally took 15 mins, and tasted amazing, not to mention so filling and syn free.

 

 

Ingredients:

400g dried spaghetti

Fry Light

400g back bacon, all visible fat removed, cut into short strips

4 garlic cloves, finely chopped

3 large eggs, lightly beaten

120g Parmesan, finely grated

seasoning

A small hand full of fresh flat-leaf parsley, roughly chopped, to garnish

 

1. Cook the spaghetti according to packet instructions. Drain and keep warm.

2. Meanwhile place a large deep frying pan sprayed with Fry Light over a medium-high heat. Stir-fry the bacon for 2-3 mins, or until lightly golden. Add the garlic and stir-fry for 30 seconds, then remove from heat.

3. Add the spaghetti, beaten eggs and half the Parmesan, season and toss well (the heat from the spaghetti will partially cook the egg, but still leave it moist and creamy).

4. Divide the carbonara out, sprinkle with parsley and the remaining Parmesan and serve.

 

This recipe serves 4 and is syn free if using the cheese as your healthy extra. I also put about 200g of thinly sliced mushrooms to mine to bump it up a bit, and it was just as gorgeous.

 

 

Also an inspirational story today, my mother has been dieting as long as I have, but she sticks to the diet of calorie counting since it has been successful for her. She's just recently got to a nice weight she is okay with and decided to take a break a couple of weeks ago, in this time I have been cooking more meals for the household so my mum has hardly had any of her own meals.

She informed this morning that without even trying she has lost 5 pounds, there is nothing different about her lifestyle except for the one fact that shes been dining on Slimming World low syn or syn free meals. If there is any need for proof that Slimming World works, this is definitely it!

If my mother can lose 5 pounds with out even trying or knowing, I can definitely lose the 2 pounds I have put down for next week! Congrats to my mum!



Weigh In (Insert Sad Face) ..

Weigh in was last night, and it did not go well for me at all. I gained 1 1/2 pounds. Obviously I'm not happy about it. Nothing much has changed over this week food wise. The only thing I can think of is the extra gym training I did Sunday afternoon. I've been feeling aching and my muscle are really hard from the circuit training I did. So I am hoping its that and I've got some water retention, which would mean that it all comes off next week! 

 

Since Gemma had me doing circuit training, I am blaming her. Ha ha. The question is now though do I keep doing some sort of circuit training every week and make my body get used to it, or just scrap it all together. Gemma just put up a great little home exercise as well for toning, be sure to go check that out here. Looks like a great little work out that you don't even need to leave the house for!

 

So today is the start of a new week, I have my meal plan that I will stick to. Tonight on the menu is Tuna Pasta Salad, quick, easy and completely syn free, might even have a Weight Watchers petit pan for my Healthy B as a side. My head is completely in it this week. Nothing is going to stop me and I will get my Christmas target of 3.5 stone weight loss!

Achievement Unlocked ..

So today's meal was a simple but tasty syn free steak and chips. I made the SW syn free chips, grilled the steak and served with dry fried mushrooms and peas. Lovely.

 

Also this evening I went to the gym with fellow slimmer Gareth and Joanne, started off on the treadmill and did 30 mins on there. I ran today a collective number of 7.5 mins, that's 30 seconds more than I have ever done so that is an achievement to me! Then moved onto the bikes and rowing machine and once again ended on the weights.

 

Always feel much better after going to the gym and now its time to write my meal plan for the coming week.

Back To The Gym ..

 

 

It was back to the gym tonight with Gareth, I've missed a whole week of exercise so it was slow going tonight, plus the stitch didn't help. Tonight I only did 2 and a half mins of running, 30 mins on treadmill, 10 mins on cross trainer. Then I went onto the bikes and rowing machine. Lastly we finished up with some weight and ten mins of hilarity of Gareth trying to sit ups with the weight ball. He succeeded in the end but the trying was amusing. I feel better now I've been to the gym, feel like I have actually done something to help with my weight loss and can't wait to get back there on Friday evening.

 

Before I went out I had cooked home made lasagne. Just 1 and a half syns per serving. I put mine with chips and peas.

 

 

 

Ingredients:

397g/14oz extra lean minced beef

2 onions, peeled and finely chopped

200g mushrooms, roughly chopped

4 garlic cloves, peeled and crushed

400g can chopped tomatoes

397g/14oz passata with herbs and garlic

2 tsp dried mixed herbs

seasoning

511g/1lb 2oz fat free natural yoghurt

2 eggs, lightly beaten

a pinch of nutmeg

Fry Light

12 dried lasagne sheets

4 level tbsp grated Parmesan

 

1. Place a large, non-stick frying pan over a high heat. Add the mince, onion, mushroom, and garlic and stir-fry for 6-8 mins. Add the tomatoes, passata and dried herbs, season well and cook for 12-15 mins, stirring often.

2. Meanwhile mix together the yoghurt, eggs and nutmeg until smooth. Season well.

3. Preheat oven to 200c/Gas 6. Spray a medium-sized lasagne dish with Fry Light. Spoon half the mince mixture into the base and top with half the lasagne sheets. Spread over half of the yoghurt mixture and top with the remaining mince mixture. Top with the remaining lasagne sheets, spread over the remaining yoghurt mix and sprinkle over the Parmesan.

4. Bake in the oven for 25-30 mins or until the top is golden. Remove from the oven and serve immediately.

 

You can also build up the superfree by adding courgettes or peppers, or to give it a kick some chili's.

Now the lasagne is beautiful but the yoghurt topping didn't really go with my taste palette, so I have been looking at alternatives. Tesco white lasagne sauce is 11 syns for 200g, this divided by 4 servings is 3 syns, so all in all a serving with jar of white sauce on top will be 4.5 syns. This I am still happy with and I believe it will taste creamier. Also I have to point out that with this recipe I added 500g of mince to bulk up the meat, and I could actually serve 6, so the lasagne was actually 1 syn each serving.

 



Weigh In .. Wooo

 

So the time has come to tell you the result and I can tell you I am delighted, no that's not the right word, I am ecstatic! I got my new 2 and a half stone award and got myself into a new number I lost 6lbs, unbelievable! Of course we have to thank the tonsillitis for the most part, obviously my body didn't go into shock and store up my fat. I am now 13.9 and well on my way to my interim target which I set at 12 stone. I'm also 1 and a half pounds from my 3 stone award and I am going for it. I've set my target at 2lbs this week and nothing is stopping me getting it!

 

I'm so gleeful its unreal. As well as getting my 2 and a half stone award I also succeeded in my body magic silver, since I've been going gym twice a week and swimming once, so I got a nice new shiny sticker and I am now onto building up for my gold. Also because I lost 6lbs I got slimmer of the week, another award and shiny new sticker! I am seriously loving this week, if I needed any inspiration for next week, I have it now!

 

Quick Gym Sesh ..

 

Had a quick gym session this afternoon, and even though it was only 50 mins long, I feel better for having it. We usually stay for over an hour but time was restricted today. Started on the treadmill to warm up, I did 30 mins on there, while running collectively for 7 mins, moved over to bikes then finished off with some weight trainer, where I learn every time I have no upper body strength.

 

For dinner tonight I cooked Hunters BBQ Chicken with Paprika Wedges. Syn free meal as I use the cheese as my Healthy A. Also I don't like BBQ sauce so I leave that off.

 



 

 

If you don't know what it entails it's real easy. Cook a chicken fillet off, add a rasher of bacon on top, and cook that, then add cheese and melt. The wedges were sprinkling with paprika or some sort of spice, spraying them with Fry Light and cooking in oven for about 30-35 mins turning a couple of times. Add with some veg or a nice crisp salad.

Body Magic? ..

 

 

Today was meant to be a body fitness day, gym and swimming.

Unfortunately things went wrong, 40 mins into the gym session I was feeling sick, maybe I had done too much already or not had enough water. I think mostly though it was because we went early and I hadn't eaten. This is my downfall, no breakfast. Admittedly I have never had breakfast, it is not something that sits well with me, but now I'm being active more and having longer days maybe I should invest in it?

 

So that was the gym cut short but then we went forward onto the swimming pool, unfortunately that did not go as planned either, only half of the pool was open so we couldn't really do lengths or for Gareth's sadness we couldn't go on the flumes. So all in all a pretty poor day for body magic, but I know I'll get 50 lengths in at the pool on Monday so looking forward to that.

 

When I got back it was time for dinner, not really planned anything today so it was pretty much throw something together. I decided on ham pasta salad with a jacket potato, I haven't had Healthy A today so I used that on cheese for JP. Sometimes its just really easy to throw a salad together for dinner, can be really filling and depending on what your vital ingredient is can be really flavourful. And don't forget completely syn free!

 



Pushing It In The Gym ..

I've just got back from the gym, my arms are quite tied but I'll try and get through typing this!

Me and Gareth did an hour work out tonight, mainly cardio with 10 mins of weights at the end. We both want 2lbs, I want it to get in my new number and to get a new award.

 

I think I pushed harder at the gym tonight. Anyone who knows me, knows I am not a runner, but tonight I ran for a collective 6 minutes. I know it doesn't sound like much but it was for me. An achievement almost. Before that it was 10 minutes to warm up, then after 15 cycling. I also like to get some rowing in there as well, I can always feel it on my arms. Then the weights to try and built some muscle since I have no strength at all.

 

I got through it and now I feel much better for it. Before going to do any sort of exercise I have this internal groan and question if I really have to, but as soon as I'm working out the rush of adrenaline gets to me and I feel amazing afterwards!

 

Before I went out I made dinner. This is what I would call a nice stomach warmer; Rich Banger and Bean Casserole. This is the first try for me and I can definitely say I will be having it again and not because there is leftovers in the freezer. ha ha.

No its really nice and just completely warms you up. Easy to make, all in one pot. As you can tell by now I love my one pot recipes, so easy but so flavourful!

 

 

 

 

Ingredients:

 

Fry Light

8 Quorn Sausages

6 large shallots, peeled and finely chopped

2 garlic cloves, peeled and finely chopped

1 tbsp finely chopped fresh sage leaves

500g pumpkin flesh, cut into large bite-sized pieces

1tbsp white wine vinegar

400g can chopped tomatoes

400g can cannellini beans

300ml vegetable stock

salt and pepper

4 tbsp chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley

 

1. Preheat oven 180c/Gas 4.

2. Spay a large casserole dish with Fry Light and place over a medium heat. Stir-fry the sausages for 4-5 mins or until golden brown all over.

3. Add the shallots, garlic, sage and pumpkin and fry for 3-4 mins.

4. Increase heat to high and add the white wine vinegar, tomatoes, beans and stock and season to taste.

5. Bring the mixture to the boil then transfer the casserole dish to the oven and cook for 1 hour, or until the sausages are cooked through and the pumpkin is tender.

6. Serve sprinkled with the flat-leaf parsley.

 

Great meal, really easy and only 2 syns per serving (serves 4). I just boiled up some carrots and green beans that I had left over to put some more superfree in there. Also I didn't have pumpkin so I substituted it with potatoes and it worked just as good. You could also have low fat pork sausages instead of quorn, just remember to syn them correctly.